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South Africa’s Shipping Policy SA maintains one of the most liberal maritime policy regimes in the world. Jones (2002a) notes that SA applies: no Cabotage rules. no multilateral, bilateral or unilateral cargo reservation. no flag preference or flag discrimination. no attempt is made to influence the terms of shipment of exports and imports. no other maritime regulatory interventions in SA other than the maintenance of safety standards.

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BEE Maritime Charter 10th December 2003, BEE Maritime Charter signed. Charters r negotiated agreements between business, labour and the gov. aimed at guiding transformation. Long-term vision: “to develop SA to become one of the world’s top 35 maritime nations by the year 2014.” (clause 2.1.1). More specifically to: “substantially increase the number of SA flagged vessels and develop new SA shipping companies that are globally competitive…”

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“What we are calling for is a clear strategy/plan for the majority of South African cargo, going through South African ports to be carried on South African ships” Shorter term objective is: “to persuade local cargo owners to increase the cargo carried on South African ships to 25,1% of the total within the next 5 years subject to review on an annual basis.” “Within 5 years, SA companies with particular focus on BEE companies should broker 25,1% of all cargo handled by brokers within the next 5 years, subject to review on an annual basis.” BEE Maritime Charter

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South African Context South African port traffic growth: –40 million tons in 1970 –80 million tons by 1978 –160 million tons by the mid 1990s (Jones, 2001). –By 2002, 190 million tons. SA has a large trade volume, BUT this large volume does not necessarily mean that it has a competitive advantage in the transportation of those goods. SA is clearly an important sea-trading nation, BUT SA is not a significant shipowning or ship operating nation.

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SA Context Of the six deepsea container ships flying the SA flag in February of 2000, only one remains (Safmarine Oranje) as of March 2004, but this vessel is no longer beneficially owned by a SA company. SA companies control (either through direct ownership or long-term charter) an estimated seventy mainly bulk-oriented vessels. These vessels are not flagged in SA and are hence able to take advantage of the many benefits associated with open registers.

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Cargo reservation and/or cabotage may be effective in attracting vessels to the less competitive SA ship register. Such promotional and protectionist policies are not consistent with both the international and national policy drive towards: the promotion of competitive markets and economic freedom; lower transportation and transaction costs; reducing inequality though promoting broad-based empowerment; and increasing liberalisation of both trade and services.

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Maritime Charter: A critique Sletmo (2002) states: “Logically, shipping policy in its traditional form based on perceived national needs and aimed at maximising the size of national fleets through promotional and protectionistic means, should be dead.” In stark contrast to such thinking, the Maritime Charter calls for “a clear strategy/plan for the majority of South African cargo, going through South African ports to be carried on South African ships” (clause 2.3.2).

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Cabotage Debate Case of New Zealand Cavana (2004)concluded that the introduction of cabotage would have an overall net negative impact on New Zealand.

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Canadian Experience In Canada it was evident that exporters were determined to prevent any form of national support for a Canadian flag fleet (Sletmo, 2002). Their opposition was based on the fear that directly or indirectly, they would be made to bear the cost of any such “promotional” or protectionist policies. In essence the Canadian exporters’ argument was: “you may create a few jobs in shipping, but for each job so created, we will lose many more jobs in our exporting industries” (Sletmo, 2002).

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Canadian Experience Canada – like most OECD Countries – has no competitive advantage in shipping and has come to accept its need to rely on open markets to supply its shipping services. Being part of a large trade system with massive amounts of cargoes, Canada benefits from aggressive competition among ports, shipping lines and other suppliers of logistics services (Sletmo, 2002).

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Maritime Policy Debate: Job Creation Job creation is an important argument used both for and against measures like cabotage, preferential shipping tax benefits, and other measures to support the local shipping industry. In SA - where jobless growth has resulted in broadly- defined unemployment rates of around 35 %, and nearly half the population still lives below the poverty line - the need to create jobs is vital.

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Maritime Policy Debate: Job Creation? Shipping may be “viewed as a means to an end – i.e. trade rather than a status developing nations need to achieve. Thus, who physically renders transportation service becomes less important than the efficiency, costs and service the market will decide are rational” (Palsson, 1998). Krugman (1993) concludes that: “Trade policy should be debated in terms of its impact on efficiency, not in terms of phoney numbers about jobs created or lost.”

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SA Context Due to sanctions etc., many SA companies have no desire and/or ability to become involved in the maritime transportation of their goods. Lushnikov (2003) investigated the terms of shipment of dry-bulk exports from the Port of Richards Bay and found that about 82% of the volume of surveyed cargo was shipped on fob terms of shipment.

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South African Context Consequently, the majority of South African dry bulk exporters do not have the legal right to appoint a “South African ship” to carry the exported cargo. Circumstances like these have led Jones (2004) to conclude that SA “remains a nation of miners, manufacturers and farmers, not a nation of shippers, ship operators or ship owners.”

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Conclusion Despite nine drafts, South Africa’s Maritime Charter and Maritime Policy requires further clarity, thought and more open debate.

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Principles of Maritime Policy Transport economic principles: Freedom of transport users’ choice across and within transport modes Reliance on a free enterprise system in which market forces operate in as unconstrained a fashion as possible. The removal wherever possible of market imperfections, such that markets operate on the basis of the correct price signals. The equal treatment of all transport modes (Floor, 1993).